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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 2024).

The Things They Say!

Hudson Music: Lance's "Bebop Spoken Here" is one of the heaviest and most influential jazz blogs in the UK.

Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency): "BSH just goes from strength to strength".

'606' Club: "A toast to Lance Liddle of the terrific jazz blog 'Bebop Spoken Here'"

The Strictly Smokin' Big Band included Be Bop Spoken Here (sic) in their 5 Favourite Jazz Blogs.

Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications) You’re the BEST!

Holly Cooper, Mouthpiece Music: "Lance writes pull quotes like no one else!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

17372 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 656 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (Sept. 17).

From This Moment On ...

September

Thu 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 19: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 19: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Kevin Eland, Dan Johnson, Jeremy McMurray, Ron Smith.

Fri 20: Lindsay Hannon’s Tom Waits for No Man @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 20: Rob Hall & Chick Lyall @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free (donations). SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Leeway @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. The Old Black Cat Jazz Club. CANCELLED!
Fri 20: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 21: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 1:00-2:45pm. Free.
Sat 21: Vieux Carré Hot Four @ The Beehive, Hartley Lane, Earsdon Whitley Bay NE25 0SZ. 4:30pm-6:30pm.
Sat 21: Baghdaddies @ Two by Two, Albion Row, Byker, Newcastle NE6 1RQ. 6:00pm.
Sat 21: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Northumberland Club, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 21: Jude Murphy & Alan Law @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free.
Sun 22: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Richard Herdman @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 22: Remy CB Band @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:30pm. Free. Remi, 2024 Newcastle Uni graduate, superb soul/blues voice!

Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 23: Paul Booth with the Paul Edis Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. A Blaydon Jazz Club 40th anniversary concert! SOLD OUT!

Tue 24: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £12.00. (£10.00. adv. from Tully’s of Rothbury). Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 24: Sarah Gillespie @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £16.50. Duo performance with Chris Montague.

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra UK: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Middlesbrough Theatre. 7:30pm.

Saturday, December 15, 2018

SSBB - Christmas @ Gosforth Civic Theatre - Friday, Dec. 14.

(Review by Lance).
As becomes the season it was party time and bells were jingled all the way on the opener. Yes, Jingle Bells, like you've never heard it played before - at least not since last Christmas (when F'reez gave us his heart more of which later). When the saxes stood up as a section the partygoers behind us erupted as if it were The Beatles at Shea Stadium.

Pete and Mark exchanging choruses rather than Christmas cards on Cole Porter's I Love You produced more 'oohs' and 'ahs' from the revellers. Not as many, however, as Alice did when she emerged from the wings in a shimmering, glittery, sparkly, figure-hugging green dress to sing Fascinating Rhythm - fascinating indeed!


Evenin' sang F'reez after 'Doc' Summers had blown an oriental blues intro. We skipped a few months to arrive at Paris in April and the old Basie/Wild Bill Davis arrangement is always worth hearing one more time.

Knarf, from the Maynard Ferguson library, originally written for American baritone saxist Frank Hittner and not, as I first thought, for Mr. Artanis, featured Robinson on alto and leader Lamb on trumpet. The band sounded great and the piano was playable this year as Graham Don proved throughout the evening.

Alice Grace is never less than outstanding as I've said, time after time and that is what she sang when making her second appearance - Time After Time. Also outstanding was Matt Forster on tenor. Matt now seems to be a regular member of SSBB.

A Christmassy Joy to the World by the band before F'reez returned to sing They Can't Take That Away From me - one of the all-time great songs by George Gershwin (much better than Summertime!)

I've Got Christmas saw Robinson and Summers having an alto joust before the appropriately named F'reez closed the set with Winter Weather and I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm. Graham Don kept the piano warm with some tasty chords.

A pint of Anarchy went down well which might explain why my notes from the second set are semi-undecipherable (well it was Christmas - your honour).

We Three Kings, in this case, Jamie Toms, Graham Don and Pete Tanton were the crowned heads whilst down front in the posh end the hoi polloi descended from above for some not so soft shoe shufflin'. 

This second set was totally seasonal so we had Carol of the Bells (Hi Carol); Midnight Prayer (a number Alice picked up from Polly Gibbons when she appeared with the band); Ding Dong Merrily on High (PJ & SS); F'reez and Alice went walking in a Winter Wonderland; This Christmas (F'reez); Santa Baby - my favourite Christmas song, particularly when sung by Alice who, now in a shorter, red, off the shoulder number, outsexed Eartha Kitt in her interpretation. Matt Forster soloed.
Sleigh Ride was a roller coaster ride before F'reez and Alice duetted on the other's fickleness in Last Christmas. That was the end 'cept, of course, it wasn't! Christmas Song and Fairy Tale of New York being the response to the cries of 'More!'

This band sets an increasingly higher bar with each gig and they will do it all again tonight - if you can find a ticket scalper!
Lance.
PS: Forgot to mention the tenor battle between Toms and Forster that made the recent Wilder/Fury fight seem like handbags at dawn.

Michael Lamb (MD), Pete Tanton, Gordon Marshall, Dick Stacey (trumpets); John Flood Kieran Parnaby, Chris Gray, Mark Ferris (trombones); Steve Summers, Keith Robinson, Jamie Toms, Matt Forster, Laurie Rangecroft (reeds); Graham Don (piano); Pawel Jedrzejewski (guitar); Michael Whent (bass guitar); Guy Swinton ((drums); Alice Grace, F'reez (vocals).

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